Tunneling machine



June 15, 1937. L .,GALUPPO Er AL TUNNELING MACHINE 3 Sheets-Sheet lFiled June 21, 1954 L ou/s 6AM/PPO, JossH FkrzfANo ANTHo/VY Cocc/ June15, 1937. 1 GALUPPO Er AL TUNNELING MACHINE Filed June 2l, 1954 3Sheets-Sheet 3 D.. S. 2% /m ma n PC.A HW.

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Patented June 15, i937 srs TUNNELING MACHINE Louis Galuppo, `l'osephPetti, and Anthony Coccia, Cleveland, Ohio Application .lune 21, 1934,Serial No. 731,710

16 Claims.

This invention relates, as indicated, to tunneling machines.

Among other objects of the invention are to provide a machine which maybe easily moved in the tunnel in which the tunneling operations arebeing conducted; which is designed to cut materials that have heretoforeresisted tunneling operations attempted with existing machines; whichmay be locked in operative position so as to to resist longitudinal andtwisting movements; which may be easily leveled in the event of tilting;which is adapted to bore holes oi relatively small diameter and in whichis embodied means whereby the machine may be adjusted to bore holes ofvarious diameters.

To the accomplishment of the foregoing and related ends, said invention,then, consists of the means hereinafter fully described and particularlypointed out in the claims, the annexed :20 drawings and the followingdescription setting A25 used.

In said annexed drawings:

Fig. l is top plan view of the machine; Fig. 2 is a side elevation ofthe machine; Fig. 3 is a bottom plan view of the machine; Fig. 4 is atransverse crcss-sectional view oi the machine taken on the line ill-lof Fig. 2; Fig. 5 is a transverse cross-sectional view of a portion ofthe machine, taken on the line 5--5 oi Fig. l; Fig. 6 is an enlargedcross-sectional view taken on the line -i of Fig. 'l and showing aportion of the mechanism for actuating one of the stabilizing wheels;Figs. '7 and 8 are cross-sectional views, taken on the lines l-'l and 88 respectively of Fig. 6; Fig. 9 is a front elevation of the cutterassembly; Fig. is a View, partly in cross-section and partly in sideelevation, of the cutter assembly, taken on a line substantiallyindicated by the line l-l of Fig. 9; and Fig. ll is an enlargedcross-sectional View, taken on the line l l-l l of Fig. 9.

Referring more particularly to the drawings, it will be seen that themachine comprises a lower frame l and an Lipper frame 2, the lower framebeing provided with longitudinally spaced pairs of hangers 3, in whichare journalled shafts and 5. Shaft l has keyed thereon a pair ofsprockets 6 and shaft 5 a pair of idler wheels l. Sprockets E serve todrive an endless track 8. It is to be noted that but a single tractiondevice 5 of this character is employed, that the device is rathernarrow, and that it is positioned centrally with respect to the sides ofthe machine. This construction and arrangement of the endless trackenables the machine to be swerved within a fairly small radius andenables holes of fairly small diameter to be bored. The track 8 isadapted to be driven by a motor 9 through the intermediary of a worm lllon the motor shaft, worm wheel ll, clutch l2, pinion I3, gear lll, worml5, worm wheel IB, sprockets Il, chains l0 and sprockets I9, which aremounted on the ends ol shaft 4.

For the purpose of elevating the cutter shaft to be presently describedso as to permit the use of cutter-supporting arms of various lengths,the frame 2 is adapted to be elevated vertically with respect to theframe l. This is accomplished by the use of screws 20 which are disposedadjacent the corners of the frames. These screws are suitably mounted onthe frame i and are in threaded engagement with the frame 2. Each screwhas keyed thereto adjacent its lower end a worm wheel 2l, whereby thescrews are rotated to elevate the frame 2. The worm wheels for thescrews at the rear of the machine are driven in unison by a motor 22,through the intermediary of a clutch 23, spur gears 24 and 25, worm 26,worm wheel 2l, shaft 28, and worms 28, which are secured to the ends ofsaid shaft. The drive for the worm wheels at the front of the machine isobtained by a motor 30 through mechanism similar in all respects to thatfor the rear worm wheels, except that bevel gears 3d and 3l are employedinstead of worm 26 and worm wheel 2l. By providing separate drives forthe front and rear screws, a limited degree of tilting of the frame 2may be obtained. This is of advantage where the machine is on softground and settles to some extent due to its own weight. In such case,the front o-r rear screws may be actuated to restore the upper frame 2to a horizontal or other desired level. The frames l and 2 aremaintained in alignment during elevation or lowering of the frame 2 bymeans of pins 2d which are secured to the frame 2 and extend intoapertures la, in the frame l. These pins not only facilitate theadjustment of the frame 2 with respect to frame l by preventing bindingof the screws 20, but are also. effective to take up shearing stresseswhich would otherwisev be transmitted to the screws 2G during tunnelingoperations.

Since the machine is provided with a single centrally disposed endlesstrack, it would have a tendency to tilt laterally either when beingmoved to and from its destination or during movement of the machine in atunnel. For the purpose of steadying or stabilizing the machine duringsuch movements, we have provided a number of stabilizing wheels orrollers 32. These wheels are disposed. beneath the frame l andpreferably adjacent the corners thereof. Each of the wheels is rotatablymounted on a stub shaft 33, which is journalled in a bearing 34 carriedby a screw 35. The screws 35 extend upwardly into the frame l and are somounted that they may be raised or lowered without being rotated. Tothis end, each screw as shown in Figs. 6, '7 and 8 is provided with aslot or keyway 36, into which extend keys 31 and 38, the key 38 beingsecured to the frame as by means of a screw 39. Vertical movement of thescrew is secured by means of a worm wheel 40 which is in threadedengagement with the screw. The wheels 32 at one side of the. machine areadapted to be raised or lowered in unison and independently of thewheels at the opposite side of the machine. For this purpose, each pairof wheels is driven by a motor di which drives the wheels through theintermediary of a clutch 42, sprocket 43, chain 513, sprocket 5, shaft4&3 and worm 4l, which are in mesh with worm wheels 40. The wheels 32are not intended to sustain the weight of the machine, and they aretherefore never lowered to a point which would cause them tosustain suchweight. Their function is primarily to stabilize the machine during itsprogress through a tunnel or over city pavements and the like. They alsoperform certain secondary functions which will appear hereinafter.

The frame 2 of the machine has provided in its upper surface a recess 48in which is mounted for slidable movement longitudinally of the frame acarriage 4t. The carriage has mounted thereon a plurality of spacedpedestal bearings 50 in which are journalled the cutter shaft 5|, therear end of this shaft being in abutment with a thrust bearing 52. Thecutter shaft is adapted to be rotated by a motor 53 through theintermediary of a chain beit 54, clutch 55, shaft et,

worms 51, worm wheels 58 (see Fig. 5), worms 59 and worm wheels til, thelatter being keyed to the shaft 5l. The aforesaid driving mechanism issuitably enclosed within a housing 6l, as shown in Fig. 5. It will benoted that the drive for the shaft 5| is transmitted to the latter attwo longitudinally spaced points. This reduces the strain on the variouselements of the driving mechanism.

The cutter shaft 5I has rigidly secured to its forward end a cutter headwhich, as shown in Figs. 9 to 11, comprises a hub 62 and four radiallyextending members 63. Each of these members has formed in its front facea recess 64 which extends from the extremity of the member to a shoulder65, which is spaced somewhat from the center of the cutter head. Mountedwithin these recesses 64 are cutter carrying arms 66. These arms are cutaway at their inner ends to provide a shoulder 61 which is adapted toabut the shoulder 65 so as to facilitate the mounting and properpositioning of the arms on the cutter head. When properly mounted, asshown in Fig. 9, the arms 66 are removably secured to the cutter head,as by means of bolts 61 and S8. Each of the arms 66 is provided with amultiplicity of longitudinally spaced recesses 69, within which cutters'l0 are mounted and removably secured, as by means of set screws 1|.

Each cutter is provided at its opposite ends with a cutting edge 12, sothat when one edge of a cutter becomes worn, the. cutter may be reversedand the other cutting edge used. The cutters are moreover so mountedthat their forward ends are inclined in the direction of movement of thecutter head. It will also be noted that the arms are offset from orarranged laterally of the axis of the cutter head so that the innerportion of each arm overlaps the inner end of one of the adjacent arms.The arrangement may also be described as consisting of cutters havingtheir cutting edges arranged in two lines which intersect each other atright angles and at the axis of the cutter head. This arrangementenables the arms to be provided with a suicient number of additionalcutters to cut material at the very center of the cutter head. It befurther noted that the cutters in each arm are uniformly spaced fromeach other but that the corresponding cutters in each successive arm(considered in a clockwise direction as viewed in Fig. 9) are arranged alittle farther from the center of the cutter than those on the precedingarm. Thus, the cutter B is a little farther from the center of thecutter head than cutter A, cutter C exten-ds slightly farther from thecenter than cutter B, cutter D a little farther than cutter C, etc. Thecutting edge of cutter C, however, is a little longer than those of theother cutters and extends inwardly to the center of the cutter head soas to cut material at such point. The outermost cutters E on each armextend slightly beyond the ends cf the arm and are provided withadditional cutting edges I3 (see Fig. l0). By extending the cutters Ebeyond the ends of the arms and beyond buckets 'M which are secured tothese arms, stresses which would otherwise be transmitted to the bucketsare absorbed by these cutters. The aforesaid arrangement of the cuttersenables the cutting action to be uniformly apportioned among all of thecutters and prevents undue stresses on any of the cutters. As furthershown in Fig. .1.0, the cutters are so arranged that those at the centerof the cutter head are in advance of those at a greater radial distancefrom the center, the extent to which the cutting edges on each arm arearranged in advance of the other cutting edges being inverselyproportional to the distance of such cutting edge from the center ofrotation of the cutter head. This enables the brunt of the pressure onthe cutting head at the beginning of the tunneling operations to besustained by the centrally disposed cutters which are best able towithstand such pressure. By providing cutter-carrying arms which areremovably secured to the. cutter head, and by securing the bucketsdirectly to the ends of such arms, instead of to the cutter head, itbecomes possible to use longer or shorter arms, as desired, to therebyvary the diameter of the hole which is being bored. Moreover, bysecuring the buckets directly to the cutter arms, the position of thebuckets is automatically changed at the time longer or shorter arms aresubstituted for those shown.

During the cutting operations, the carriage 49 is adapted to be advanceda predetermined distance, after which it is adapted to be quicklyretracte-d to its initial position, as illustrated in the drawings. Forthis purpose, a screw l5 is provided which is rigidly secured to anabutment 16 on the rear end of the carriage. This screw is adapted to beactuated in either direction without beingrotated, this beingaccomplished in a manner similar to that in which the screws 35 areactuated. To this end, a worm wheel 'il is threadably secured to thescrew and this worm is driven by a worm '18 which is in turn driven by amotor 'i9 through a variable transmission, preferably of the Reevestype. By employing a transmission of this type, the carriage may beadvanced'very slowly during the cutting operations, but may be retractedvery quickly, thereby effecting a con-- siderable saving in time. Tofacilitate movement of the carriage i9 a roller is mounted on` theframe.

For the purpose of resisting any tendency of the machine to rotate ortwist bodily about the shaft iii as a result of the tunnelingoperations,

a number of jacks or locking elements l?! are provided. These elementsare in the form of internaliy threaded sleeves pointed at one end so asto pierce the walls of the tunnel. They are mounted on screws 82 and arelongitudinally adjustable with respect to these screws so that they maybe adjusted in accordance with the diameter of the tunnel which is beingformed. The screws S2 are adapte-d to' be moved longitudinally withoutbeing rotated, and for this purpose, each screw is mounted on a pedestal83 in a manner similar to that in which the screws 35 and 'l5 aremounted, and has threadably engaged therewith a worm wheel Sli, which isdriven by a worm 35.

Worm wheel 85 is driven by motor Sii through clutch 3l, pinion 88 andgear 89. The motors are suitably mounted on the frame 2 of the worm.Each of the locking elements 8l is thus independently actuated.

Means have also been provided for transport-- ing away from the floor ofthe tunnel the material which has been cut. As previously stated, thebuckets M mounted on the cutter-supporting arms 5t, in the course ofrotation of shaft 5l pick up the cut material from the floor of thetunnel. When each bucket in turn reaches the uppermost position shown inFig. 9, the material is dumped from the bucket onto an endless conveyorbelt Sii. This belt as shown in Figs. l and 2, is mounted on a frame 9i,which is carried by uprights Sill mounted on the carriage 59. The rearend of the frame 9! is supported by a platform 33 which is mounted on aninverted U-shaped pedestal lid, which in turn is carried by and isvertically ad- 5() justable with respect to arms 95. Arms gli carrywheels Sii, which are adapted to move on rails 9i' which are laid downon the iioor of the tunnel as the machine is advanced, The conveyor belt95 is driven by a motor S8 through a Reeves or other suitable variablespeed transmission, the

motor being mounted on the platform 93.

The machine is also provided with a substantial semi-circular apron 99which is removably secured tothe front of the frame l and serves to pushforward any loose material not picked up by the buckets lli.

The operation of the machine may now be briefly described as follows:The machine is moved to the desired location in a tunnel and is locked(55 in position by advancing the locking elements 8l into engagementwith the walls of the tunnel, such walls being generally indicated bythe dotdash circle in Fig. 4 of the drawings. With the machine thus inposition, the stabilizing wheels 32 may be lowered into engagement withthe walls of the tunnel, thereby assisting the elements 8i resisting anytendency of the machine to rotate or twist bodily about the shaft 5i asa result of the tunneling operations. The wheels 32 are also effectiveto level the machine, if for any reason, it becomes tilted during thetunneling operations. This operation is facilitated as the result of theemployment of .only a Single endless track 8 for traction purpose, suchtrack obviously offering less resistance to leveling than would a g pairof laterally spaced tracks.

With the machine thus locked in position, the cutter head is rotated inthe direction :indicated by the arrow in Fig. 9 to beginthe cutting opnerations and the `carriage Il@ is simultaneously lo advanced. During thecutting operation, the material which is dumped onto the conveyor beltil@ is carried by the latter to the rear of the machine and is dumped bygravity into a car which follows the machine for this purpose. After thei5 carriage ai! has advanced to its forward limit of movement, it isretracted to its initial position, as shown in Figs. l and 2. Thelocking elements are then retracted and the entire machine drivenforward to a position in which the aforesaid 30 cutting operations maybe renewed, whereupon the locking elements are again moved to operativeposition and cutting is renewed. When it is desired to cause the machineto swerve to some extent to vary the direction of the tunnel, it is il.)only necessary to retract three of the locking ele ments Si, leaving oneof the elements, which it is desired to use as a pivot point, inengagement with the wall of the tunnel. The entire machine will thenmove about this remaining locking ele- 51o ment as a pivot.

When it is desired to bore a tunnel of larger diameter, it is onlynecessary to elevate the frame l to the desired position and tosubstitute for the cutter-carrying arms, longer arms.

It is thus seen that we have provided a machine which may be easilymoved in a tunnel in which operations are being conducted; which cutsmaterials that have heretofore resisted tunn neling operations; whichmay be locked in operao tive position; which may be easily leveled;which is adapted to bore small holes and is adjustable to bore holes ofvarious diameters.

Other modes of applying the principle of our invention may be employedinstead of the one .g5 explained, change being made as regards themechanism herein disclosed, provided the means stated by any of thefollowing claims or the equivalent of such stated means be employed.

We therefore particularly point out and dis- 5,0 'tinctly claim as ourinvention:

1. In a tunneling machine, a 1notor-driven frame, a second framedisposed above said motor-driven frame and substantially coextensive inarea therewith, screws disposed adjacent 5; the front corners of saidframes and adapted to be rotated to raise or lower the front portion ofsaid second frame with respect to the iirst frame, screws disposedadjacent the rear corners of said frames and adapted to be rotated 0 toraise or lower the rear portion of said second frame with respect to thefirst frame, `and separate motor-driven means for rotating the front vand rear screws independently of each other.

2. In a tunneling machine, a motor-driven .",f' frame, a second framedisposed above said motor-driven frame and substantially coeXtensive inarea therewith, screws disposed adjacent the front corners of saidframes and adapted to be rotated to raise or lower the front portion',"9 of said second frame with respect to the rst frame, screws disposedadjacent the rear corners of said frames and adapted to be rotated toraise or lower the rear portion of said second frame with respect to therst frame, separate motor- 75 driven means for rotating the front andrear screws independently of each other, and means for preventinghorizontal displacement of the second frame relatively to the rst frameduring rotation of said screws.

3. In a tunneling machine, a main frame, a single endless track formoving said frame, said track being disposed beneath said frame andcentrally with respect to the sides thereof, power means for drivingsaid endless track, a second frame disposed above said main frame andsubstantially coextensive in length and width with said main frame,screws disposed adjacent the front corners of said frames and adapted tobe rotated to raise or lower the front portion of said second frame withrespect to the main frame, screws disposed adjacent the rear corners ofsaid frames and adapted to be rotated to raise or lower the rear portionof said second frame with respect to the rst frame, and separatemotor-driven means for rotating the front and rear screws independentlyof each other.

4. In a tunneling machine, a slidably mounted carriage, a shaftrevolubly mounted thereon, and means for rotating said shaft, said meansin.- cluding elements rigidly secured to said shaft at longitudinallyspaced points and members in driving engagement with said elements.

5. In a tunneling machine, a slidably mounted carriage, a shaftrevolubly mounted thereon and means for rotating said shaft, said meansincluding worm wheels secured to said shaft at longitudinally spacedpoints therealong and worms in driving engagement with said worm wheels.

6. In a tunneling machine, a main traction frame, a second frame mountedon said main frame, means for adjusting said second frame relatively tosaid main frame, a carriage slidably mounted on said second frame, meansfor reciprocating said carriage, a shaft vrevolubly mounted on saidcarriage, a cutter head mounted on said shaft and means for rotatingsaid shaft, said last-named means including elements in drivingengagement with said shaft at a plurality of longitudinally spacedpoints therealong.

7. In a tunneling machine, a main frame, a single endless track formoving said frame, said track being disposed centrally of said frame,stabilizing wheels mounted on said frame and disposed in vertical planesat opposite sides of said track and underneath said frame and screwmeans for adjusting said wheels vertically without displacing the wheelsfrom said planes.

8. In a tunneling machine, a traction frame, a single endless track formoving said frame, said track being disposed centrally of said frame,two pairs of stabilizing Wheels mounted on said frame, each pair beingdisposed in a vertical plane laterally of said track and underneath saidframe, individual screw means for adjusting each wheel verticallywithout displacing the wheel from its vertical plane, and separate powermeans for independently actuating the screw means of each pair ofwheels.

9. In a tunneling machine, a frame, means for moving said frame along atunnel, a carriage slidably but non-rotatably mounted on said frame, arevoluble shaft mounted on said carriage, a cutter head mounted on saidshaft, cutter-carrying arms removably mounted on said cutter head,buckets secured to the ends of said arms and an endless conveyorsupported by said carriage and movable bodily therewith as the latterslides with respect to said frame and arranged to convey materialdeposited thereon by said buckets to the rear of said machine.

10. In a tunneling machine, a frame, a carriage slidably mountedthereon, a shaft mounted on said carriage, a cutter head mounted on saidshaft, cutter-carrying arms removably mounted on said cutter head,buckets secured to the ends of said arms and an endless conveyorsupported by said carriage, said conveyor being disposed above saidcarriage and extending from a point adjacent said buckets to a point atthe rear of said machine.

1l. In a tunneling machine, a shaft, a cutterhead mounted thereon andprovided With a plurality of radially extending members having recessesin the front faces thereof, cutter-carrying arms disposed in saidrecesses and abutting the side walls thereof, and buckets removablysecured to the rear faces of said arms adjacent the ends thereof, saidbuckets being in abutment with the outer ends of said radially extendingmembers.

l2. In a tunneling machine, a shaft, a cutter head mounted thereon andprovided with a plurality of radially extending members having recessesin the front faces thereof, said recesses extending inwardly from theends of said memers to points spaced radially from the axis of saidhead, said inner ends of the recesses forming shoulders, andcutter-carrying arms disposed in said recesses and abutting the sidewalls thereof, said arms having shoulders in abutment with saidfirst-named shoulders.

13. In a tunneling machine, a cutter assembly comprising a rotatablecutter head, and a plurality of cutter-supporting arms mounted thereon,each of said arms overlapping the inner end of one of the adjacent armsand extending substantially to but not beyond the axis of rotation ofsaid cutter head.

14. In a tunneling machine, a cutter assembly comprising a revolublehead and a plurality of cutter-supporting arms mounted thereon, each ofsaid arms extending inwardly substantially to but not beyond the axis ofsaid head.

l5. In a tunneling machine, a cutter assembly comprising a revolublehead, a plurality of cutter-supporting arms mounted thereon, each of isaid arms overlapping the inner end of one of the adjacent arms andextending inwardly substantially to but not beyond the axis of saidhead, and a plurality of cutters removably secured to each of said arms,the cutters on each successive arm being arranged slightly farther fromsaid axis than the corresponding cutters on the preceding arm.

16. In a tunneling machine, a cutter assembly comprising a revolublehead, a plurality of cutter-supporting arms mounted thereon, each ofsaid arms overlapping the inner end of one of the adjacent arms andextending inwardly substantially to but not beyond the axis of saidhead, and a plurality of equally spaced cutters removably secured toeach of said arms, the cutters on each arm overlapping in their cuttingaction the cutting action of the cutters on the preceding arm.

LOUIS GALUPPO. JOSEPH PETII. ANTHONY COCCIA.

